I look around the world of humans and I see so much evidence of what humans want to hear is what they actually hear. Yes, we give lip service in our world to being open to other ideas and holding the space for others and being there but in many ways, we hear what we want to hear. Please not
e, that I use the word "we" and "they" collectively to represent humans as a whole.
Whether it is in politics, religious circles, new age healing practices or every day life, our ears are tuned into what makes us feel good, not what is actually being spoken or transmitted. With the internet, we bombard ourselves with so much noisy communication that we just numb ourselves a little further into the reality of illusions.
Take for instance, the news pundits on TV. Do you think they truly sit there for a minute listening to the other side of the issue? I would suggest that they do not. Their position is already determined and is one of the reasons they are brought on the news show. If the pundits from both sides of the issue listened and agreed, most viewers would turn the TV off or switch the channel. We hear what we want to hear!
Observe the recent Quran burning by Dove Outreach Center in Gainesville, Florida. I'm not going to attempt to get into the right and wrong of this event because there are many in the world screaming one way or another on this. What I want to point out though is that neither side is listening to the other. They have no intentions of listening to the other side. They don't care what the other side thinks as long as the other side comes around to their way of thinking. Again, what "we" hear is what "we" want to hear.
Often times we encounter moments in our life where we hear things from others that challenge us and make us step into a world that is not comfortable to us. Instead of wanting to hear these things, we often run back to our corner and hide where it is safe. Yet, we then continue to ask for guidance or blessings from whoever our source in life is, when it is standing right there before our eyes. Once again, we hear what we want to hear.
There are moments, that we ask and question all that is around us. We feel that we don't have the answers we need to move forward in life. Life becomes difficult and we struggle. Instead of going into ourselves and listening to that which we know is there, we seek answers out from all kinds of new age people, to ministers and churches, and to things such as numbing substances we consume. Instead of hearing the answers within ourselves, we hear what we want to hear and we don't hear that which we don't want to hear.
Yes, it makes us feel safe if someone tells us something we should do and it makes us feel valuable if we tell someone something that they should do. While there can be value to that, if we are not careful, we are giving up our power to something that is not whole and pure. I'm not denying that other people have insights and can help us find our way through the maze of life, but we have to be careful in what is being said.
Outside of learning to listen to others and hearing what is actually being said, we need to open ourselves to how we have built walls up to surround ourselves. Through the pureness of love, we need to open our arms to others that we don't want to hear and to things in our own life that we do not want to hear. They are our building blocks to greater awareness and evolving as a human is meant to evolve.
What if, instead of trying to tell the person what they should do, you actually just walk hand in hand with them so that they will find what it is they need to do? How about actually listening to what a person is saying without thinking of your position and how you will respond? What if you could just be there in that moment with another or yourself and allow the discomfort to push you forward rather than running for cover in your hiding place?
As I have written, we hear what we want to hear, and we do this not only with others but ourselves. We need to open our minds, our hearts and our ears to how this fits us in our life. It is more than what the "other" people do around us or what our "clients" and our "friends and family" fail to see.
It is about how we view the world and how we hear what truly is being spoken. For if we only hear what we want to hear, then we are not only holding our own evolution back but we are a drag on the rest of humanity.
Blog Post & Images (c) 4/02/11 Don Shetterly - use by permission only
http://www.donshetterly.com
e, that I use the word "we" and "they" collectively to represent humans as a whole.Whether it is in politics, religious circles, new age healing practices or every day life, our ears are tuned into what makes us feel good, not what is actually being spoken or transmitted. With the internet, we bombard ourselves with so much noisy communication that we just numb ourselves a little further into the reality of illusions.
Take for instance, the news pundits on TV. Do you think they truly sit there for a minute listening to the other side of the issue? I would suggest that they do not. Their position is already determined and is one of the reasons they are brought on the news show. If the pundits from both sides of the issue listened and agreed, most viewers would turn the TV off or switch the channel. We hear what we want to hear!
Observe the recent Quran burning by Dove Outreach Center in Gainesville, Florida. I'm not going to attempt to get into the right and wrong of this event because there are many in the world screaming one way or another on this. What I want to point out though is that neither side is listening to the other. They have no intentions of listening to the other side. They don't care what the other side thinks as long as the other side comes around to their way of thinking. Again, what "we" hear is what "we" want to hear.
Often times we encounter moments in our life where we hear things from others that challenge us and make us step into a world that is not comfortable to us. Instead of wanting to hear these things, we often run back to our corner and hide where it is safe. Yet, we then continue to ask for guidance or blessings from whoever our source in life is, when it is standing right there before our eyes. Once again, we hear what we want to hear.
There are moments, that we ask and question all that is around us. We feel that we don't have the answers we need to move forward in life. Life becomes difficult and we struggle. Instead of going into ourselves and listening to that which we know is there, we seek answers out from all kinds of new age people, to ministers and churches, and to things such as numbing substances we consume. Instead of hearing the answers within ourselves, we hear what we want to hear and we don't hear that which we don't want to hear.
Yes, it makes us feel safe if someone tells us something we should do and it makes us feel valuable if we tell someone something that they should do. While there can be value to that, if we are not careful, we are giving up our power to something that is not whole and pure. I'm not denying that other people have insights and can help us find our way through the maze of life, but we have to be careful in what is being said.
Outside of learning to listen to others and hearing what is actually being said, we need to open ourselves to how we have built walls up to surround ourselves. Through the pureness of love, we need to open our arms to others that we don't want to hear and to things in our own life that we do not want to hear. They are our building blocks to greater awareness and evolving as a human is meant to evolve.
What if, instead of trying to tell the person what they should do, you actually just walk hand in hand with them so that they will find what it is they need to do? How about actually listening to what a person is saying without thinking of your position and how you will respond? What if you could just be there in that moment with another or yourself and allow the discomfort to push you forward rather than running for cover in your hiding place?
As I have written, we hear what we want to hear, and we do this not only with others but ourselves. We need to open our minds, our hearts and our ears to how this fits us in our life. It is more than what the "other" people do around us or what our "clients" and our "friends and family" fail to see.
It is about how we view the world and how we hear what truly is being spoken. For if we only hear what we want to hear, then we are not only holding our own evolution back but we are a drag on the rest of humanity.
Blog Post & Images (c) 4/02/11 Don Shetterly - use by permission only
http://www.donshetterly.com
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